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Living up to its motto of “Bridging Cultures, Meeting Minds”, the Dubai International Film Festival has so far brought to Dubai a variety of films from every continent and shown the world the best of Arab cinema.
The films screened in 2004 and 2005 ranged from the latest Hollywood thrillers, Bollywood blockbusters and debut films by Arab filmmakers to edgy, provocative independent movies, thought-provoking documentaries and controversial short films that wowed audiences and juries at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance and the European Film Awards.
The films addressed diverse subjects such as war and the effect of conflict, desert ecology, women's emancipation, terrorism and other contemporary social issues.
The first edition
The curtain went up on Dubai's first film festival on December 6, 2004, with the gala red carpet screening of Le Grand Voyage, attended by a galaxy of international stars from Hollywood, Bollywood and Arab cinema. As many as 76 films from 27 countries were shown under 10 themed sections, followed by public discussions with the filmmakers and stars.
The films that generated most excitement among movie buffs included Steven Soderberg's Ocean's 12, which premiered here a day after its debut New York screening, the African tale Bopha!, Walter Salles's road movie The Motorcycle Diaries, The Corporation, directed by Mark Achbar and The Hamburg Cell and Control Room that provided unique insights into terrorism.
Much to enjoy
Audiences also enjoyed a variety of popular Indian, American, British and Filipino movies on the Screen on the Green, the open-air amphitheatre by the lakeside in Dubai Media City. Special retrospectives were held to honour Egyptian Hollywood star Omar Sharif, Indian filmmaker Subhash Ghai and Egyptian director Daoud Abdel Sayed.
In the second edition of DIFF, 98 films from 46 countries were screened with six world premieres, seven international premieres and several regional premieres. New programmes showcasing cinema from Africa, Asia and Europe were added and two new Arab sections titled Dubai Discoveries and Emerging Emiratis provided a platform for upcoming talent from the UAE and the Arab world.
The highlights of this event included the world premiere of Albert Brooks's Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, the Middle East premiere of Being Osama and Palestinian Hany Abu Assad's Paradise Now, which went on to win the best foreign film at the Golden Globe Awards.
The programme also featured Yesterday, winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin and the first South African film to be nominated for an Oscar, the Chinese film Peacock that won the Silver Bear at Berlin as well as the Cannes Palme-D'Or-winning Belgian drama L'enfant. Also included were the controversial Arabic film Dunai, which addressed and confronted social issues in the Arab world, and Deepa Mehta's equally thought-provoking Water.
Noteworthy
Audiences also saw the first-ever feature film made in Yemen called A New Day in Old Sana'a and enjoyed the first-ever UAE screening in 70mm format of the film Baraka at the Screen on the Green. Also noteworthy were two documentaries that highlighted issues of desert ecology and Arabian wildlife and the humanitarian role played by the UAE's armed forces in Kosovo.
Hollywood legend Morgan Freeman, Indian stalwart Yash Chopra and Egyptian superstar Adel Imam were honoured for their contribution to international cinema and a tribute was paid to the late Syrian producer Moustapha Akkad. The event also hosted several discussions and seminars on a variety of issues related to films and filmmaking.
DIFF 2004
The top films from DIFF 2004:
Ocean's 12
Finding Neverland
The Grudge
The Motorcycle Diaries
Super Size Me
Bopha!
Control Room
The Hamburg Cell
Shouf Shouf Habibi
Raghu Romeo
Khamosh Pani
Monsieur Ibrahim
Spotted on the red carpet at DIFF 2004:
Orlando Bloom
Morgan Freeman
Nicolas Cazale
Sarah Michelle Geller
Anil Kapoor
Subhash Ghai
Elham Shahin
Nelli
Aiman Zeidan
Kirron Kher
Billy Boyd
Daoud Abdel Sayeed
Deepa Mehta
Gurinder Chadha
Rahul Khanna
Desmond Tutu
Feroz Khan
Fardeen Khan
DIFF 2005
The best films from DIFF 2005:
Paradise Now
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
Water
Maine Gandhi ko Nahi Mara
Pride and Prejudice
The Constant Gardener
Walk the Line
Joyeux Noel
Dunia
Barak
Elizabethtown
L'enfant
Edison
Mad Hot Ballroom
Seen on the red carpet at DIFF 2005:
Morgan Freeman
Yash Chopra
Adel Imam
Deepa Mehta
Laurence Fishburne
Diane Kruger
Hugh Dancy
Alan Ladd Jr.
Hanan Turk
Mona Zaki
Subhash Ghai
Sumner Redstone
Hind Sabri
Constantin Costa –Gavras
Michael Caton-James
Albert Brooks
John Abraham
Anupam Kher
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